Rapist begs for castration

By Sowetanlive - 31 January 2014 - 16:05

A convicted rapist shocked the court this week by asking for castration as an alternative to serving time in jail.

According to Newzimbabwe.com, 29-year old Xolisani Nkala asked that he rather be given another form of punishment, even if it is castration instead of serving time in jail because he needed to be outside to take care of his children.

"If an option of fine or community service is not possible, can you recommend that I be castrated so that I would not go to jail but be with my children," Nkala was quoted saying.

Nkala also reportedly pleaded with the court for leniency.

“May you consider a fine or community service because I can't have my children grow in the same way without a father as I grew up without knowing my father; if I am sent to jail they will not know me,” he said.

The magistrate denied his request and sentenced him to 21 years in jail, 20 for rape and a further year for robbery.

Nkala was tried for the rape of a 20-year-old woman whom he reportedly picked up at a local club; he also allegedly stole her Nokia cellphone.

Nkala however insists that he is innocent.

He told the court that he and the woman had engaged in consensual sex, after which he had given her R150 for the sex and her cellphone.

Nkala was arrested a few days after the incident when the victim and her husband spotted him while taking a walk in central Bulawayo.